About Me

Friday, September 30, 2011

This composition cherub was gold when I got her. I painted her white, and placed her very haphazardly in the garage. It was an accident waiting to happen.

I knew I could repair her, but I wanted to attach her to something. I thought about doing a plaque, but that's what she was already. Then I spotted these in the corner.

I used my heavy duty glue to attach her to the center, and drilled a couple screws through the back. Sorry, no pics.

I wanted to keep that imperfect look. So, I gave it a little sanding, and painted right over the chippy paint. I applied one coat of grey, and about three coats of my white paint/gesso mix. The chips are still present, along with peeks of grey.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

When I decorate for fall, all I really do is rearrange what I have, and add a few extras. If you were to come over right now, this is what you would see outside my front door. It may not be what you would consider typical fall decor, but it's my kind of fall.

If you've followed my blog for any length of time, you'll recognize that iron gate section with the roses. It used to be my header. I picked up the galvanized piece recently at one of my favorite resale shops, and it's holding one of my favorite plants, "autumn joy".

The urn next to it is one of two I found at a garage sale earlier this year.
I almost parted with them, but I'm so glad I didn't. Yes, that's a candle inside. I love candles inside and out.

This is another one of my favorite galvanized buckets. It's much heavier than what I usually see and I love the thick vertical strips.

I have a tall chest in my living room. It's great for storage.

The urn on top was a flea market purchase, and I love the figures.

My bleached mirror is leaning against the wall in back. Yes, that little glow is another candle. I picked up a bunch of these little white pumpkins at my local grocery, and sprinkled them around. You saw some in my "What I Like" post.

The rich colors in this painting remind me of fall.

It's on the other side of my desk, along with one of my wicker covered bottles. Dried roses are another favorite of mine.

Autumn is my favorite time of year. So, when it comes to fall decor, I actually have quite a few things that put me in an autumn mood. Throw in a few white pumpkins, pick a little "autumn joy", and I'm happy.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

You can use a silk rose, or a plastic one. Just make sure either are clean.

This is a messy, but pretty simple project. You're going to need latex or vinyl gloves, plaster of paris, gesso, a stirring stick, and a bucket or wide container for your mix.

Start with plaster of paris. Mix with water, till you get the consistency of pancake batter. Make enough to immerse your rose in. Then add a little white gesso. This will dry super fast if you don't have water on hand to keep the batter like consistency. Keep adding water if it starts to stiffen. Have your flowers ready. Put on your gloves and dip.

You want to saturate the rose with the mixture, and get in the crevices. If you are using a silk rose, you may have to do a little sculpting to get the shape you want. When you're done, shake off the excess, and lay it on a plastic surface. I just used a plastic bag.

Depending on how thick you coat the rose, it will take a few hours to a day for it to stiffen and dry really well.

The finish will be chalky. You can dust it with a small paint brush. Now, this is purely decorative. This is not something you want to bang around a lot. The plaster will chip. You can leave it this way, seal it with spray, or paint it. I like the raw irregular look. I put some of them in my vintage bottles.

There are a multitude of variations to this technique, but I wanted to give you a simple one.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

I was laughing to myself as I finished this redesign. I have gone from my spicy cabinet to this little shabby white footstool. Two very different looks, but this is what I envisioned when I purchased this piece.

This footstool is another find from the past week. It's one of those newer pieces.

I liked the ornate metal, but hated the faux rusted look. So I decided to paint it. I gave it a thick coat of white,

and recovered the cushion in heavy white cotton material. For a little layering, I tore a strip of the same material, transferred a botanical print, and ran it down the center.

A little paint and hot glue is all it took to transform this piece. Now, I've been asked to do a tutorial on reupholstering with hot glue. Well, hot glue is something that you have to work with very quickly. Stopping to take a pic isn't really an option. I may have my son take pics next time so I can show you the steps. I'll also have a tutorial on making the plaster rose you see here.

Monday, September 26, 2011

I shared how you can use white glue as a crackle medium here. I used a thin layer on the surface, brushing and stippling (pouncing with the brush). I gave the frame two layers of paint, first yellow, then a deep red. The drawers I painted a mustard yellow. After some sanding, I had the look I wanted.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

I found her this weekend at an estate sale. She's an alabaster lamp. Hard to find at a reasonable price, and she was more than reasonable. My husband brought home the alabaster urn on the right a few days ago from a resale shop.

This chair was at the same estate sale.

Along with these "Made In Italy" nesting tables, a pair of ornate shelves, and cement planters. If you read my "What I Like" post, you know how much I love urns and planters.

There's more, but I haven't taken photos yet. Although this was an estate sale, the prices were great, and falling the first day. The cement planters were less that $10 each. I'll be sure to share the rest of my finds in future posts.